Demographic and evolutionary significance of adoption and fosterage

Adoption and fosterage are life-altering events that arise in diverse contexts in the United States and across the globe. Whether and in what ways the welfare of adopted and fostered children improves outside their natal environment are subjects of much debate. Important factors affecting the welfare of adopted and fostered children include: the circumstances that lead to adoption and fosterage; differences between the activities and treatment of adopted and fostered children and of biological children; and societal acceptance versus stigma surrounding adoption and fosterage. Understanding how these factors interact to facilitate or inhibit successful outcomes for adopted and fostered children is critical for tailoring family programs to suit the individual needs of the many children who are reared primarily by non-natal parents in the United States. This research will be conducted in the Melanesian island nation of Vanuatu, where adoption and fosterage are commonplace and arise in contexts comparable to adoption and fosterage among minority populations in the United States. The research team, including a postdoctoral scholar, two ni-Vanuatu graduate students, and an international team of highly trained PIs, will investigate the causes and consequences of adoption and fosterage using an evolutionary framework that seeks to understand how adoption and fosterage contribute to familial success. The researchers will use a diverse set of methods that leverage the significant variation in these practices in Vanuatu to evaluate which specific factors or sets of factors best predict differences in child outcomes. Specifically, the investigators will use questionnaires, interviews, dietary and activity recall assessments, and anthropometric measurements of health to describe the circumstances surrounding adoption and fosterage and to tie such circumstances to differences in child health and well-being. Findings from the research will provide insight into tailoring support for adoptive and foster families by examining how social and demographic factors contribute to variation in the welfare of adopted and fostered children as compared to their biological counterparts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.